The Arizona football team reported for training camp Wednesday, gathering at the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility for portraits and other activities. The first practice is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Here are some quick hits from player interviews:
- Defensive lineman Luca Bruno said Arizona’s defense had become too predictable under the previous coaching staff and would be less so under Marcel Yates. Bruno said the Wildcats would present different fronts and pre-snap movement to confuse opposing offenses.
- Bruno said he would be limited at the start of training camp because of the foot injury that kept him out late season and throughout spring. He expects to be ready for Sept. 3 opener against BYU.
- Linebacker Cody Ippolito, who missed last season because of a torn ACL, said his knee feels 100 percent. He was held out of contact in spring. Ippolito also has dropped 10-15 pounds and appears to be much fitter than during spring drills.
- Asked which young defensive linemen stood out to him during summer workouts, Bruno cited a pair of redshirt freshmen: Justin Belknap and Finton Connolly.
- Receiver Samajie Grant had high praise for fellow wideout Tony Ellison, lauding his extreme competitiveness. Despite losing several players, Arizona should have a deep, productive receiving corps.
- One of the leaders of that group, Trey Griffey, talked a lot about … baseball. Griffey went to Cooperstown this summer for his dad’s Hall of Fame enshrinement. He also was drafted by the Seattle Mariners. I’ll have more on Griffey later today at Tucson.com.
